People & Inspiration

In Focus: Qualities That Make A K-Pop Idol The Best Leader For Their Group

Behind every outstanding K-pop group is a leader who gives their very best to achieve their well-deserved success. While most of us might not see what these leaders have done for their groups, we're sure that they're one of the few people who sacrificed a lot just to keep the group thriving every comeback. Even if they're going through something personal, a strong leader continuously chooses to take care of the group.

It's truly the most difficult position to be in, which is why we cherish our leader hyungs and unnies to the core. Here we listed down the qualities that make an idol the best leader as demonstrated by the industry's top leaders such as G-Dragon, RM, and more!

1. They take full responsibility over their group.

One of the most important qualities that every K-pop leader should have is being responsible over whatever happens in your group. That's why most leaders are the serious ones or the one who makes sure that no one gets in trouble. When it comes to being a responsible leader, Girls Generations' Taeyeon is one of the best! She once said in an interview that she's always careful with what she does in the public to not affect the group. SONEs can attest that Taeyeon always protected the group, that's why even when there were issues about them, she still took full responsibility even if it's not her fault.

As a leader of the group, you're expected to be the one whom the members can look for guidance—the person whom they believe knows the right to do. And it's sometimes difficult especially if you're young yourself, that's why the member who is usually assigned as a leader by their agency is usually the eldest. But in TWICE's case, they have the 5th oldest member as their leader which is Jihyo. What we truly admire about this girl's leadership is how she remained being considerate towards other members and even, sometimes, become selfless. By guiding the group, even her unnies, she proves that age doesn't really matter in leadership.

Whether it's introducing their new song, their concert tour, or the group itself, it's the leader's job to be the one in charge in promoting their group wherever they go! They don't have to be fluent in every language, just as long as they're well-spoken and always know the right thing to say. The leaders are the ones who always step up, and that's where BTS' leader RM is best at. In every interview they've done in South Korea and around the world, RM has always been the one who makes sure that the group is well-promoted, understood, and appreciated. Plus, the fact that RM is also fluent in English, it's safe to say that he did so well in being the group's spokesperson!

The relationship between the leader and the members is presented like a family where the leader is the parent and the members are their children. ﻿Since the leaders are usually the ones everyone looks to for strength when something is happening in the group, it's a part of their responsibility to remain strong. This is something that the King of K-Pop G-DRAGON truly embodied through the years of taking care of his group BIGBANG. It's safe to say that every K-pop fan knows all the difficulties that the group faced, but these challenges just made us admire G-DRAGON more for never giving up, remaining tough for his members, and believing in them even when he's the only one who's willing to do so.

K-pop idols are also humans, so it's no surprise that they have arguments every now and then. That's where the leader usually comes in: to act as the mediator between the group. They're the ones who make sure that everything is solved at the end of the day, not just within the members, but also, sometimes, with fans and the outside world. Keeping the peace is absolutely a tough responsibility, and EXO's leader Suho definitely deserves the recognition for being able to keep his patience and wisdom all throughout the group's journey. Whenever EXO fights, Suho will always gather the members, talk to them in a calm manner, and listen to what the members who are in conflict have to say before giving his neutral point of view. That's our Super Leader Hyung!

Not every K-pop leader has these qualities, that's why the ones who display it absolutely deserves the respect they're getting from this industry. Through all the challenges and achievements that their group faced, we'll never get tired in appreciating them for being dependable. We hope that the new breed of K-pop leaders would look at them as inspiration because we definitely need more of them!